Meet the Windies T20 squad touring New Zealand

Kathikeya Manchala previews the WI squad ahead of the T20i series against New Zealand

After a long hiatus, the West Indies T20 team will be back in action. When they last came together in Sri Lanka, there were claims about their batting order being the best ever assembled. While some of the big names will not feature this time, one can still expect a “hit-out contest” between the sides on flat pitches and small venues. 

Let us take a look at who is going to feature, what their role is and what their goals they should set out to achieve in this three-match series.

New opening combo

When Fletcher was smashing the fiery Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson in his first year in international cricket all the way back in 2009, it seemed like he was destined for great things. He will likely end his career as an unfulfilled talent who just slotted in when the big guns were unavailable. However, it is not too late to stake a claim for the role of backup opener for the 2020 T20 World Cup on the back of some promising CPL form.

Brandon King, meanwhile, is yet to come to terms with the rigors of international cricket. After a breakthrough 2019 CPL, he struggled in unfamiliar conditions and to make things worse, had a horror 2020 CPL. His talent is unmistakable, but it might take a while before he cracks white ball cricket. He must use all the chances he gets in the absence of Gayle, Lewis and Simmons to get comfortable with the quality of bowling he will face in the future.

Star-studded middle order

The two southpaws, Hetmyer and Pooran are fearsome hitters of spin bowling. Their central role will be to take down Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi in an attempt to rattle New Zealand’s bowling plans. While Pooran is closer to the finished product, he is still vulnerable against high pace bowling and will face an excellent test in the form of Lockie Ferguson. While Hetmyer has a more solid base against pace, it is his game sense and pacing of an innings that he needs to develop.

The firepower to follow Pooran and Hetmyer is what makes this middle order one of the world’s best. There is none better than Pollard to shepherd the middle order with his experience and also switch to sixth gear seamlessly. 

As captain, he is the fulcrum. In the absence of Andre Russell, Allen will get an opportunity to face more balls and exhibit his six-hitting capacity. It has been a while since the world has witnessed his adventurous extra cover drives for six.

The batting all-rounders

Powell’s troubles against spin bowling are well documented, but he has potential to become a specialist in pace-friendly conditions. With the 2021 T20 World Cup set to take place in Australia, the idea of developing him from now is not far fetched. His fast hands and power help him pick and dispatch pacers effectively, so it is a matter of getting the most out of his strengths rather than dwell on his weaknesses.

Mayers enters the side after a more than respectable 2020 CPL. He is more of a stop-gap in the absence of Russell and can float anywhere in the batting order if he gets a chance. Like Powell, his game against spin looked limited in the CPL, so it remains to be seen how this step up in quality treats him.

Who will fix the death bowling woes?

One thing that has held back the West Indies T20 team since the 2016 WT20 is the lack of control at the death as Dwayne Bravo declined. In the last 18 months, however, both Paul and Shepherd have emerged as candidates to replace Bravo in that role.

With Bravo himself missing this tour as he nurses an injury, both Paul and Shepherd will likely get an opportunity to put their death bowling skills in action after showing signs of development in the 2020 CPL. Paul has been working on becoming less reliant on the slow ball variation while Shepherd has focused in improving the accuracy of his yorker with a sling low-arm action.

The faltering bowling core

The frontline seamers have had a nightmare run of form off late and their work is cut out on what are likely to be batting paradises. As it mostly is the case in T20s played in New Zealand, the focus should be on damage control but it is questionable whether this crop of bowlers who are naturally attacking can adapt to that change in mindset.

Cottrell is one of the world’s leading new ball bowlers, but is virtually unbowlable outside the powerplay. He is less of a concern, though, because he is a known quantity with the new ball and can be relied on for wickets.

Contrastingly, it is difficult to predict which version of Thomas and Kesrick will turn up. Thomas, in the 2020 CPL, looked out of shape and had no control over his bowling. Kesrick, meanwhile, has proven to bowl erratic spells just when he began to cultivate a reputation of becoming a crafty seamer. 

Walsh Jr has had a roller coaster ride since 2019 and has had to deal with batsmen beginning to read his variations. He should be afforded time as he gets more comfortable with his craft simply because there is no other playable wrist spinner in the region. Pollard will need to show more trust in him for this transition to take place smoothly.


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Also be sure to check out co-founder Santokie Nagulendran’s latest piece for The Cricketer about Brandon King and his quest to cement a spot in the side:

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